Matilda White Riley Award Lecture:Long Life in the 21st Century

Laura L. CarstensenProfessor of Psychology, Fairleigh S. Dickinsen Jr. Professor of Public Policy, Director, Stanford Center on Longevity

NIH, June 18, 2010

US: From pyramid to cube as the population ages

Jeanne Louise Calment 1875-1997

National Health Interview Survey: Percent reporting Serious Psychological Distress

0

1

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6

18-44 years 45-64years 65 and older

TotalMaleFemale

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003

Lang, Staudinger & Carstensen, 1995

Socioemotional Selectivity TheoryCarstensen, 1993; Carstensen et al., 1999; Carstensen, 2006)

• Humans are uniquely able to monitor time – including lifetime --and do so at both conscious and subconscious levels.

• Goals are always set in temporal contexts.

• Because chronological age is associated with time left in life, goals change across the life span.

• Expand horizons• Acquire knowledge• Meet new people• Take chances

• Live in the moment • Know what’s important• Invest in sure things• Deepen relationships• Savor life

Time horizons influence preferences

• When time horizons are manipulated experimentally, preferences change systematically. Younger people show preferences similar to the old when time horizons are shortened and older people show preferences similar to the young when time horizons are expanded. (Fredrickson & Carstensen, 1990; Fung, Carstensen & Lutz, 1999; Fung, Lai & Ng, 2001)

• When natural occurrences, such as personal illnesses, epidemics, political upheavals, or terrorism prime endings, preferences of the young come to resemble those of the old (Carstensen & Fredrickson, 1998; Fung et al. 1999; Fung & Carstensen, 2006)

Carstensen, L. et al., 2010

Poignancy by Condition

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Control Experimental

Poi

gnan

cy Time 1Time 2Time 3

Ersner-Hershfield, Mikels, Sullivan, & Carstensen, 2008, JPSP

Success is within reach.Don’t let time pass you by.

Take time for the ones you love.Don’t let time pass you by.

Fung & Carstensen (2003) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Preferences for Emotional Ads by Age

Preferences for emotional ads by age and condition

Fung & Carstensen (2003) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Recognition Memory:Type of Advertisement Slogan by Age

Fung & Carstensen (2003) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Recognition Memory:Type of Advertisement Slogan by Age

Fung & Carstensen (2003) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

In subsequent studies we identified a relative preference among older people for positive information over negative. We postulate that there is a developmental shift in motivation across adulthood in which a preference for negative information becomes a preference for positive information (Charles, Mather & Carstensen, 2003; Mather & Carstensen, 2003; Mather & Carstensen, 2005; Carstensen, Mikels & Mather, 2006; Lockenhoff & Carstensen, 2008). We call this shift the “positivity effect.”

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Young Middle Old

Posit iveNegat iveNeut ral

Amygdala activity

-0.06

-0.04

-0.020

0.02

0.04

0.060.08

0.1

younger

% s

igna

l cha

nge

positiveneutralnegative

Mather, Canli, English, Whitfield, Wais, Ochsner, Gabrieli & Carstensen, Psychological Science, 2004

Mather, Canli, English, Whitfield, Wais, Ochsner, Gabrieli & Carstensen, Psychological Science, 2004

-0.06

-0.04-0.02

0

0.02

0.040.06

0.08

0.1

younger older

% s

igna

l cha

nge

positiveneutralnegative

Amygdala Activity

Attentional bias scores

Mather & Carstensen (2003) Psychological Science

-20

-10

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younger older

Positive faces

Negative faces

Kennedy, Mather & Carstensen (2004) Psychological Science

What are the costs and benefits associated with the positivity effect?

Does the positivity effect influence anticipatory responses to monetary gains and losses?

Cue DelayTarget DelayDelay

Delay DelayDelayCue Target

Feedback

Feedback

2s 2s 2s~2s~2s

Gain Anticipation

Samanez-Larkin, Gibbs, Khanna, Nielsen, Carstensen, & Knutson, 2007

OlderYounger

Samanez-Larkin, Gibbs, Khanna, Nielsen, Carstensen, & Knutson, 2007

Loss Anticipation

OlderYounger

Cue Ratings

Samanez-Larkin, Gibbs, Khanna, Nielsen, Carstensen, & Knutson, 2007

Cue Ratings

Samanez-Larkin, Gibbs, Khanna, Nielsen, Carstensen, & Knutson, 2007

Löckenhoff & Carstensen, Psychology and Aging, 2007

Löckenhoff & Carstensen, Psychology and Aging, 2007

Löckenhoff & Carstensen, Psychology and Aging, 2007

If older adults focus on their feelings versus the information when making decisions, will they make better choices?

HealthNow: dental care is fully covered

HealthNow: routine exams are not covered

CareNet: prescription drugs are fully covered

CareNet: physical therapy is covered

… query

Choice

… query

… query

… query

HealthNow: dental care is fully covered

HealthNow: routine exams are not covered

CareNet: prescription drugs are fully covered

CareNet: physical therapy is covered

… query

Choice

… query

… query

… query

HealthNow: dental care is fully covered

HealthNow: routine exams are not covered

CareNet: prescription drugs are fully covered

CareNet: physical therapy is covered

… query

Choice

… query

… query

… query

Choice Quality

Main Effect of Age: F(1, 114) = 5.49, p < .05

Choice Quality

Age by Condition Interaction: F(1, 114) = 6.62, p < .005

Does the positivity effect influence learning to seek gains and avoid losses?

Decision

2s

Feedback FixationChoice

2s 2s

Decision Feedback FixationChoice

Gain Trial

Loss Avoidance Trial

+$1.00

-$1.00

Optimal Cue Non-optimal Cue

.66 -$0.00

.33 -$1.00.33 -$0.00.66 -$1.00

Optimal Cue Non-optimal Cue

.66 +$1.00

.33 +$0.00.33 +$1.00.66 +$0.00

Anticipation & Learning

Samanez-Larkin, Hollon, Carstensen, & Knutson, 2008

Correlation

Using Message Framing for Health Behavior Promotion

Older AdultsPos > Neg & Neu (p=0.036)Pos > Neg (p=0.023)

Matilda White Riley Award Lecture:

Long Life in the 21st Century

Laura L. CarstensenProfessor of Psychology,

Fairleigh S. Dickinsen Jr. Professor of Public Policy,

Director, Stanford Center on Longevity

NIH, June 18, 2010